Welcome to Dinosaur National Monument. The largest quarry of Jurassic Period dinosaur bones ever discovered is the source of the 200,000 acre Dinosaur National Monument's name. Dinosaur National Monument had its beginnings In 1909, twenty miles east of Vernal, when paleontologist Earl Douglass discovered a 200-foot long sandbar of sorts which was layered with prehistoric plant and animal fossils. About 350 million tons of fossils, including full skeletons and remains of some dinosaur species that were previously unknown, were excavated at Dinosaur National Monument by Douglass and his crew.

Today, a year-round visitor center built over the quarry protects over 2,000 dinosaur bones left exposed in the sandstone wall at Dinosaur National Monument. Beyond the quarry, Dinosaur National Monument stretches east into Colorado. In both the Utah and Colorado portions of Dinosaur National Monument, there are mapped hikes through mountains, plateaus, deserts, scenic drives, and the whitewater thrills of the Green and Yampa Rivers.